201 - Who or What Controls You?

Working a job is a fact of life for most Americans, yet I wonder what percentage of those workers understand the cost of them working?  You might be thinking I made a typo there, how could a job cost you money? This topic came up this past week when talking with friends.  One of my friends just celebrated a 15-year anniversary with the same employer. What she received as a “gift” for that 15 years of hard work was the ability to order a present (read trinket) from a catalog.  This episode isn’t about what her employer should or shouldn’t do to recognize her dedication in service, instead of its to help you see the lost opportunity cost that you suffer each and every day. How much do you really need to earn to leave your w-2 job?  Most people I ask this question to tell me the same answer…$10,000 a month will do the trick.  Will it though?  Could you escape the rat race for less?  The majority of American workers absolutely can! The average W2 American works from January till May every year just to pay taxes, mindblowing huh?  I bet that if you look at last year’s tax return you will see similar figures on yours.  This means that you really don’t need to fully “replace” your paycheck, you just need to build up your passive income to meet your true net income to escape the rate race.  For most Americans, that means you can escape the rat race by earning somewhere between 50% to 70% of your current income.  How do you accomplish this?  Well, how about listening to this week’s episode to find out :)